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Tigers to truck out snow to make way for new Comerica Park grass

Photo by NATHAN SKID / Crain's Detroit Business
New Kentucky bluegrass will be installed this month at Comerica Park in the first full-field sod replacement at the ballpark since 2007.

The Detroit Tigers soon will begin using plows, trucks and snow blowers to remove the layer of snow from the playing surface at Comerica Park so new grass can be installed and ready in time for Opening Day on March 31, the team said today.

The turf is to arrive in refrigerated trucks beginning the week of March 17.

This will be first full-field replacement at the 15-year-old ballpark since 2007.

Since the initial set-up for the Winter Festival in November, when the grass was removed for a temporary ice hockey rink, the entire playing surface has been covered with a textile filter fabric that prevents debris and contaminates from entering the sub-surface, the team said.

The fabric also allows the Tigers' groundskeeping staff to remove snow without removing or displacing the root zone.

The infield and turf areas since Monday have been heated with surface-level construction-grade, 750,000 BTU trailer heaters, which blow warm air under large tarps, the team said.

Once the snow is gone, the field will be leveled.

When the grass arrives, it will be rolled and, if needed, stapled in to ensure quick and proper rooting, the Tigers said. It will be fertilized before and installation.

The Tigers haven't disclosed the cost of the new turf, but new natural grass fields at major league ballparks range in price from $100,000 to $250,000.

The National Hockey League agreed to pick up the cost of the new grass as part of the deal it swung with DetroitRed Wings and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch to host its Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium instead of Comerica Park.

Also sharing some of the cost are the Red Wings and Olympia Entertainment. Olympia is the entertainment management arm of the Ilitch family's business holdings, which include the Wings and Tigers.

The cost and how it's being apportioned among the three entities hasn't been disclosed.

The Winter Festival was the downtown Detroit portion of the Winter Classic, which was played at Michigan Stadium between the Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Graff's 440-acre sod farm has provided the grass for Wrigley Field in Chicago, the University of Notre Dame's football stadium, Busch Stadium in St. Louis and several other major college and pro facilities.

In addition to normal game wear, the Tigers have replaced or repaired sections of turf after concerts by Kid Rock, Paul McCartney and Jimmy Buffett in recent years — giving the field a splotchy, patched look.

After a Rolling Stones concert in September 2005, Tigers head groundskeeper Heather Nabozny and her crew had to immediately replace 22,500 square feet of outfield grass.

The Tigers' Opening Day is March 31, when the Kansas City Royals come to Detroit.